Biff Bangs

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Hippocampus erectus. Photo credit: Thinkstock.

Even with these restrictions, there is still a large number of seahorse-friendly corals to choose from. Colony polyp corals, such as zoanthids, green star polyps, clove or daisy polyps, mushrooms and ricordias, are generally fine to keep with seahorses. Easy gorgonians, such as silver muricea, corky fingers, purple frilly gorgonia and purple bush gorgonia, will do well with a little specific care. Mushroom corals and ricordias are also generally acceptable. Faux corals are becoming more popular as new varieties that look almost exactly like the real thing come to market.

Hitching posts
Seahorses need structures of some kind to hitch onto during the day. Most of their days are spent with their tails wrapped around some easy-to-grab hitching spots, swiveling their independent eyes in every direction to try and hunt for food.Gorgoniansare excellent for this behavior, as are many faux corals and kelp. My two yellow H. reidi spend most of the day hitched to a faux red kelp that I have planted in the back corner of my tank. In the evenings, they migrate to the yellow and orange gorgonians near the front of the tank, often with their little faces pointed right at me as they wait for their supper.

Macroalgae
Many seahorses are found in and around relatively shallow seagrass flats, as well as seagrass zones that border the calmer inner portions of a reef. While most seagrasses are considered protected species and should not be collected, there are many similar macroalgae that can be substituted in a seahorse aquarium. If your local laws permit it, different species of Caulerpa algae are excellent candidates for a planted seahorse tank. Caulerpa is often used inrefugiumsfor its potential to filter out ammonia and nitrate, which makes it all the more desirable for a seahorse tank. Be sure to check your state regulations before using Caulerpa; it is considered an invasive species in some areas. Because Caulerpa can grow so quickly, it will need to be pruned to avoid choking out any coral you may have. Other slower-growing algae that do well include Gracilaria, Laurencia and Bryothamnion flame algae.

Live rock
I recommend live rock in a seahorse tank. Just be sure that it has been properly cured; that is, pests, such as large bristleworms and mantis shrimp, should be absent from the rock. Bristleworms may not be a huge problem, but amantis shrimp would likely eventually kill any seahorse tankmate.

Care and Feeding
The best food for captive-bred seahorses is frozen Mysis shrimp. Because seahorses are such slow, methodical feeders, you must decide how best to present the food to them. You can hand-feed them with a little patience, spot-feed a few shrimp in front of them or set up a feeding station for them where they can eat. In most cases, the most useful tool is going to be a turkey baster. With the baster, you can present shrimp one at a time in front of the animal, suck them back up if the horse doesnt take them or carefully deposit a larger amount of shrimp at a feeding station. Most seahorses should be fed six to eight shrimp twice a day. Larger horses will eat more, so observing your animals is important.

Feeding Stations
Although I love hand-feeding my seahorses, I find that a feeding station is much more convenient. A feeding station consists of any cuplike object that the horses can come up to. I use a small, clear glass culinary prep bowl, but I have seen people use many different items. Large empty shells, flat depressions in a piece of live rock or a store-bought feeder station will work. Provide some hitching posts around the cup for the seahorses to latch onto. In order to get them started with a feeding cup, get the horses attention with a single shrimp and then guide it over to the feeding station. Present your shrimp in front of the seahorse by releasing one or two from the turkey baster in front of its snout. With a little practice, you can keep a single shrimp balanced delicately at the tip of your turkey baster while you slowly guide the shrimp and the seahorse over to the dinner bowl. Alternatively, you can hold a shrimp by the tail with tweezers and attract the seahorses attention. Usually you will only need to do this once or twice before they catch on. Soon you will see them motoring over to their feed bowl as soon as they see you walk in the room.

Health and Disease Prevention
I have been asked before about a certain seahorses coloration. Color varies from individual to individual rather than from species to species. There is no species of yellow horses. I have seen yellow H. reidi, yellow H. kuda and yellow H. erectus horses. The color of a seahorse can change depending on its mood, stress level and environment. For example, my H. reidi male changes to a bright yellow, and his stripes become highly pronounced when he courts the female. When I first introduced them to the tank, they both lost most of their yellow coloration and assumed a mottled brown that blended in with the live rock. The bottom line is simple: dont buy your horse on color alone. Closely monitor your seahorses for color changes; a radical color change may be the result of stress. Seahorses have individualized patterns on their hides called saddle markings, which do not usually change when a seahorse changes camouflage coloration, though they may become more pronounced or fade slightly. A stressed horse, however, may lose these saddle markings completely.

Seahorses are prone to most of the same ailments as other fish. The diagnosis and description of seahorse disease could fill a full volume by itself. Detailed diagnosis and care articles are available online with a quick Internet search. To cover the basics, however, remember that though they are so visually different, seahorses will still occasionally come down with the most common of marine parasites: ich. Of course, the best cure for ich is prevention, so be vigilant and quarantine any animal before it goes into your aquarium system.
Seahorses are also prone to developing skin lesions from time to time. Remember that seahorses do not have scales, and the likeliness of a bacterial infection is increased if a horses hide is scraped. Be prepared with a small hospital tank, just in case you need to remove and treat a seahorse.

And now you are ready for your own seahorse tank! I hope this guide has been helpful to you. Although a seahorse aquarium requires a little more work to start up, the benefits of the finished product far outweigh the initial planning required. Seahorse aquariums are both incredibly relaxing and completely enthralling at the same time. Dont be surprised when you find yourself spending time sitting in front of the tank and just watching. After all, your seahorses will probably be watching you back. AFI

Richard Rayl is a graphic editor and syngnathid enthusiast from South Florida. He has been an aquarium hobbyist since he was old enough to pick up a dipnet, and he can often be found up to his elbows in one tank or another around the house. Rayl lives with his wife and a small menagerie of finned, furred and feathered animals.

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